In 2002 a rock singer saw a 1969 Porsche 911 for sale on the internet and flew to California to buy it. By 2026 the company that car started had delivered more than 500 reimagined 911s to more than 30 countries, built a 500 horsepower air cooled engine with Formula One help, been told off by Porsche's lawyers, closed its own order book on purpose, bought a racetrack and partnered with Louis Vuitton. The complete history of Singer Vehicle Design, from Catherine Wheel to the DLS Turbo.
(00:00) Cold open
(01:11) Intro
(02:09) Act one: the origin
(08:33) Act two: the engineers
(11:03) Act three: the Porsche problem, and the empire
(18:40) The verdict
(20:39) Next week: Pagani
Sources
Rob Dickinson, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Dickinson
Catherine Wheel, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Wheel_(band)
Top Gear, Rob Dickinson's life in cars: https://www.topgear.com/car-news/classic/rob-dickinson-singer-bosss-life-cars
Petrolicious, Rob Dickinson interview: https://petrolicious.com/blogs/articles/singer-vehicle-design-s-rob-dickinson-on-building-a-restomod-empire
Singer Vehicle Design, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singer_Vehicle_Design
Singer Vehicle Design: https://singervehicledesign.com/
Motor Authority, Singer at 10 years: https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1124441_singer-celebrating-10-years-at-monterey-car-week
Norbert Singer, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norbert_Singer
Hans Mezger, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Mezger
Porsche 964, Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_964
motorsport.ie, the DLS: https://motorsport.ie/2017/11/18/singer-williams-advanced-engineering-modify-1990-porsche-964/
Porsche Club GB, DLS at Goodwood: https://www.porscheclubgb.com/News-and-Events/News/2018/July/Singer-DLS-debuts-at-Goodwood
Nuvo, the DLS: https://nuvomagazine.com/rides/singer-vehicle-designs-porsche-911-dls
Carscoops, Porsche and the ACS: https://www.carscoops.com/2021/03/exclusive-porsche-not-happy-with-singer-designs-acs-car-pulled-off-website/
Motor Authority, Turbo Study: https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1135026_singer-starts-huffing-creates-turbo-study-inspired-by-930
Top Gear, Classic orders stopped: https://www.topgear.com/car-news/retro/singer-has-stopped-taking-orders-its-classic-reimagined-porsche-964
Motor1, 300th restoration: https://www.motor1.com/news/708828/singer-300th-porsche-911-targa/
classic.com, Mountain View at Gooding 2019: https://www.classic.com/a/gooding-pebble-beach-2019-rW9Bjp9/lots/1991-porsche-911-reimagined-by-singer-pJlGoXn
Goodwood, DLS Turbo: https://api.goodwood.com/grr/road/news/singer-dls-turbo-is-a-700ps-reimagined-porsche-in-tribute-to-the-935
Stuttcars, DLS Turbo Firefly commission: https://www.stuttcars.com/for-sale-1991-porsche-911-reimagined-by-singer-dls-turbo-the-firefly-commission/
PistonHeads, Raj Nair: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-americancars/raj-nair-announced-as-new-boss-of-singer/49374
The Drive, Willow Springs: https://www.thedrive.com/news/sold-singer-yes-that-one-will-run-private-club-at-renovated-willow-springs-raceway
Forbes, Everything is important: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelharley/2025/08/12/singer-vehicle-design-successfully-keeping-everything-important/
Singer press releases, February to August 2026: https://singervehicledesign.com/press/
A Gentleman Car World production, written and fact checked with AI research assistance, and narrated by David, an AI generated voice.
Singer Vehicle Design is not sponsored, associated, approved, endorsed nor, in any way, affiliated with Porsche Cars North America, Inc., or Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche, AG. The cars discussed in this episode are Porsche 911s reimagined by Singer.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
